United States explains why they did not announce transfer of ATACMS to Ukraine

The United States did not announce that it transferred ATACMS missiles to Ukraine in order to preserve the operational security of the country at the request of the Ukrainian side.

This was stated by Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the United States Department of State, Vedant Patel, during a briefing.

“Yes, I can confirm that the United States has provided long-range air defense systems to Ukraine at the direction of the President. In February, he quietly ordered his national security team to send them to Ukraine for use in Ukrainian sovereign territory.”

According to a representative of the U.S. Department of State, these missiles were part of the military aid package announced by the United States on March 12. He stated that the missiles arrived in Ukraine this month.

“We didn’t announce it at the beginning to preserve the operational security of Ukraine at their request, and I will give them an opportunity to talk about their use and how they may or may not be applied to their own military operation,” Patel explained.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on April 24, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a bill that provides for the allocation of funds for assistance to Ukraine.

However, it became known that the United States secretly sent long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine in March.